The Devil Within
by Paladin's Throne
Summary: Is the price of power...one's very humanity? As Ryu struggles internally, assaulted by an unfamiliar voice, he is attacked by a stranger with a power as dark as the Satsui No Hadou. Who is he? Can Ryu defeat him? Or must he give in to the devil within? A novelization of the acclaimed short film on youtube by Thousand Pounds.


_**The Devil Within**_

* * *

The wind howled around him, snow crunching softly under his feet as he slowly hiked up the familiar path. He took another step before pausing, a smile gracing his tired features.

Ken Masters loved the peace and solitude the mountains provided compared to the hustle and bustle of the big cities in America. When he had been younger, during his training days, he hated it. Hated the long hike up the mountain, hated how quiet it was when he was used to the noises of car horns and people shouting filling his ears.

But now…

It put things in perspective and gave him a peace he rarely found in the cities as an adult.

It had been a while since the third World Warrior Tournament, and even longer since he had even seen Ryu. Ken knew his oldest friend and rival had been in the tournament but he had not crossed paths (Or clashed fists) with him during it.

This visit was long overdue and much needed. It had been too long since Ken had a decent spar…

Shouldering his traveling bag, he resumed his hike.

It wasn't too much farther.

He could just picture the look of surprise on Ryu's face (Though he doubted he could really get the drop on him like he wanted to) when he saw Ken arrive.

The blonde chuckled under his breath, shaking his head.

He'd probably be saving Ryu from the boredom that was meditation.

He really didn't understand how Ryu could live up here by himself all the time. Ken liked the peace the mountains offered, but he still needed that hustle and bustle of the cities to stay sane.

Ken honestly couldn't imagine that anything really exciting was going on up at their master's old dojo at the moment.

* * *

All day…

All day they had plagued him.

The voices.

Harsh whispers and inaudible murmurs that filled his ears with a droning buzz that left him with terrible headaches.

And filled his heart with unease.

But then…

_**You…**_

Behind his closed eyes, a familiar kanji flashed.

_Metsu._

Unable to remain focused on his training, Ryu had come to sit and rest before a small memorial shrine of his old master, Gouken, before he closed his eyes and evened his breathing, sinking into the meditation practice Gouken had taught him early into their training together, so long ago…

But the voices had not quieted. The unease only grew. And…

_**The one who has been calling me is…you?**_

Ryu inclined his head slightly, as if to better hear these strange words. The voice was soft, inquisitive almost, but…something was off. Was it…His?

It went on.

_**I hear you…That voice inside.**_

That voice…inside?

Ryu frowned.

So…it wasn't-

_**You have already opened my eyes.**_

His hand clenched into a fist atop his thigh, and his head jerked in a sudden involuntary motion.

Behind his closed eyes, he saw a face for a split second.

Young, pale skin, dark hair…

But strange markings on his forehead…

And his eyes…

Black. Soulless.

_**That power inside of you…It's familiar…I hear what's inside of you!**_

Ryu's jaw tightened, the muscles of his face beginning to twitch and spasm as the voice echoed in his mind. The unease grew. And with it came the beginnings of pain.

But there was also worry.

_That power_…

Could this voice know…

Of the Satsui No Hadou?

A second image flashed in his minds eye.

It was a strange sigil, not a kanji or anything of the sort Ryu was familiar with.

_**You can't hold on…It will over take you…**_

…_**and I will find you.**_

He made no sound as he stepped into the dojo, arms crossing over his chest. His lean, scarred face was twisted in a smirk as he stared at Ryu's back.

The young martial artist gasped sharply, eyes snapping open as he felt the sudden presence behind him.

The man's eyes were dead set on Ryu. How strange they were. The right was a dark brown…

The left a deep red.

Breathing deeply, Ryu turned his head slightly, and could just make out the intruder out of the corner of his eye. Slowly, he began to rise and turn to greet the interloper.

The scarred man broke into a sprint.

Ryu just managed to ask softly, "Who's there?" when he saw a red gloved fist shooting towards his face. The warrior barely had a chance to raise his left arm to intercept the blow, narrowly dodging his next series of punches and a low kick at his knee caps. Ryu deflected another series of punches when his attacker thrust his fist out in a straight punch, connecting with Ryu's chest-

And release a torrent of electrical ki that traveled between his fists into Ryu's body, making him exclaim in both surprise and pain as the lightning like energy coursed through his body, igniting his nerves with fierce pain.

Not a single word had been exchanged. Only the sounds of fierce exclamations that seemed to punctuate each blow had passed between the two.

As Ryu staggered, his opponent paused momentarily in his assault, his fists raised and held at level in a fighting stance. Ryu shook his head and looked back at his strange new foe. The man was of Japanese ethnicity like Ryu himself, but older, mid thirties or late forties, maybe older, his black hair gelled in the back to a wicked point, like a fin, dressed in all black in a suit, the kind you see a corporate business tycoon wear. It was a stark contrast to Ryu's worn and frayed white gi, brown leather training gloves and simple red headband.

The only things out of place were his gloves. Red leather, with silver studs embedded in the knuckles. Based on that, and the man's stance, so assured, practically radiating arrogance…

His opponent was someone not to be underestimated.

Inhaling slowly and deeply, his own arms and fists raising as he assumed the battle-ready stance of his fighting style, Ryu slowly moved towards the left, aligning himself with his adversary.

Challenge accepted.

His opponent took the movement as an opening and lunged with a spin kick with his left leg that Ryu easily blocked and caught the follow up punch with his right arm with his own left arm, allowing Ryu to quickly jab his right fist into the man's jaw, making him exclaim before he retaliated with a wild swing that Ryu blocked again and respond with a quick jab to the man's solar plexus. But when Ryu followed up with a left cross to the man's face, he pulled back and lunged forward, jabbing another ki charged punch into Ryu's kidney, following up with a left cross of his own with more of that lightning like ki for added taste and good measure that sent Ryu reeling in pain, shaking his head to try and clear the stars dancing in front of his eyes.

Ryu staggered back but recovered quickly, lunging with a wild punch but his opponent shot his own fist out at the same time and both combatants took a punch right to the face. Unfortunately, the man was faster on the recovery and struck Ryu across the neck with a powerful chop that sent Ryu flying flat on his back and rolling completely before stopping, the man who held the title of 'World Warrior' gasping, expression dazed and pained.

His opponent, the darkly dressed scarred man, lowered his fists and stood to his full, impressive height, looking down on Ryu dispassionately, almost bored.

Ryu met his gaze with a fierce expression as he rose back to his feet, teeth grinding down as he bared them. To this, the scarred man only smirked back. Ryu resumed his fighting stance, now bouncing on his feet slightly as he prepared for his second wind.

With a deep grunt, he charged forward while his foe stood his ground, thrusting his left arm out to intercept Ryu's left cross but then effortless ducking under Ryu's right roundhouse kick when he realized the attack had been a feint, blocking Ryu's sudden jab with his left arm but only barely managing to block Ryu's sudden knee strike with his right arm, then blocking Ryu's right arm as he tried to bring it up in another cross punch, grabbing the younger warrior's hand and dragging him forward, forcing Ryu onto his knees and showing his back to the older fighter-

But allowing Ryu to sweep kick his enemy and knock him off balance and sending him rolling as well, though he recovered much more quickly then Ryu had, rising back up in an instant but failing to block Ryu's powerful blade kick directly to his chest, sending him crashing into the wall, scant inches from the shrine for the fallen Gouken. The man let out a single gasp of lost breath and pain, allowing Ryu to suddenly lunge forward, body spinning, leg kicked out.

"_Tatsumaki!_" Ryu exclaimed sharply, unleashing his whirlwind kick, a staple of his martial arts, striking his opponent right across his face and once more knocking down, this time flat on his back.

Now they were even.

The man instantly locked his eyes on Ryu as he scrambled to get back up, turning his body and trying to sweep kick Ryu off his own feet but the World Warrior just jumped over the move, but could not aptly retaliate in time, allowing his enemy to rise back up. Both men charged and brought their legs down in a fierce stomp, exclaiming loudly as their legs locked, dust rising from the floor and even the ceiling saw a few particles fall.

Ryu slammed his knee into the back of his nameless attacker but he simply responded with a twist and slam of his own, mirroring Ryu. Ryu chose to respond with left cross to his scarred face quickly followed by a right directly between his eyes, reeling him, and allowing the white garbed warrior to strike him in his solar plexus a second time, sending the darkly clad adversary flat on his back a second time. But before he could get up, Ryu gave him a swift kick to the face that the scarred man barely blocked in time, though he was still almost knocked on his side this time.

The man was just scrambling back onto his feet when Ryu charged forward with a fierce cry, slamming his fist straight into the man's stomach with such force he was literally knocked off his feet, floating high in the air for a split second and allowing Ryu to follow up with a second uppercut directly to his jaw. A sickening crunch echoed in the room as the bottom of the man's jaw was forced to grind up against the top.

Ryu attempted to unleash the final devastating uppercut of his feared Metsu Shoryuken…

But found his strength matched and his Shoryuken stopped.

His fierce expression fell for a moment, disbelief replacing it.

The scarred man looked down at Ryu's fist, his expression almost comical if not for the outrage it revealed. Then he raised his eyes to meet Ryu's. And his left suddenly flashed a bright red.

Ryu blinked, shocked-

And off-guard.

Allowing his foe to easily grab the back of his head and shove Ryu's skull into his own in a powerful headbutt that sent Ryu staggering with a grunt of pain and removing his fist from his enemy's jaw.

His opponent did not pursue and resumed his fighting stance, both arms raised, left arm farther out, hand open. Ryu began to resume his own stance and-

_**Why are you wasting time with him?**_

Ryu grit his jaw down, a groan slipping out as he shook his head, trying to silence the voice as he sharply whispered, "Not now…" He attempted to keep eye-contact with his foe, who returned the gaze evenly-

And then the voices returned in full force, no longer whispers, but roars that filled his ears and seemed to want to split his head in two. The lingering pain of his foe's headbutt combined with the sudden onslaught of noise served to successfully catch Ryu off guard. And all the while…

_**Your opponent is none other than I.**_

Ryu was forced to drop his stance as he desperately clutched at his head, the pain only growing steadily worse by the second. He shook his head, his face twisting in a mask of agony, mouth open in a silent scream.

His nameless foe watched silently, his blank face finally cracking and revealing the slightest hint of intrigue. And then he suddenly smirked again, his own fighting stance lowering slightly, but not completely dropping.

_**You are at your limits.**_

Ryu could only stand there and feebly resist the voices, the pain in his head continuing to grow and grow steadily worse, like forest fire raging out of control, with no hope of containment.

_**I will find you.**_

_**I will find you…**_

That pale face with the strange markings and soulless black eyes flashed in his mind once again.

_**I promise I will find you!**_

Ryu could do nothing. He had trained all his life to battle with his fists and prepare his body for almost any kind of assault. But he did not know how to defend against, or respond to, a battle in his mind, no, his soul. All he could do was stand and grip his head, trying to will the voices to silence and for the pain to ease.

But it did not.

_**It is our fate…**_

The scarred man's smirk grew into a pleased sneer.

"It begins," He breathed, his first words since this battle had begun. His voice was deep and powerful, controlled.

And filled with anticipation.

His sneer fell away as he suddenly charged Ryu, who gasped and barely had time to respond with a right cross to meet his physical enemy's left. Ryu couldn't deflect the blow and received a fist to his face for his troubles, but his own attack had connected with the man's chest and sent him falling back and rolling across the floor. He quickly rose onto his hands and knees, staying crouched as he saw Ryu resume his fighting stance…

But then the younger man suddenly staggered, gasping weakly, head lowering as the mental toll and physical toll of his battles began to take hold.

The scarred man smiled darkly.

Ryu suddenly stumbled backwards, head lowered, gaze uneven.

The scarred fighter's smile only grew.

He rose up suddenly and delivered a powerful left cross to his weary opponent, with Ryu only able to reply with a wild swing that was easily ducked under, leaving him open to a sudden elbow that was heavily dropped down onto the back of his exposed neck, which was followed by a powerful uppercut that sent Ryu staggering back, barely able to block his relentless adversary's elbow with both arms. Ryu blinked, trying to regain his breath and composure-

Only to get a sudden spinning roundhouse across his face, sending him several feet back form his opponent.

Unable to catch his breath and in dire need of space between himself and this nameless, unrelenting attacker, Ryu twisted his body back, hands together as fiery, glowing blue ki gathered in between his palms-

But he could not even release the Hadoken when his enemy leapt and kicked him, knocking him from his stance and causing the fireball to discharge harmlessly. His foe grabbed him suddenly and forced him back with a powerful punch across the face that left Ryu completely dazed, only able to hold his arms up in a weak block as his opponent relentlessly followed up with a powerful combo of flashing punches, one after another, followed by a spinning backhand that knocked Ryu's arms aside and left him open to a straight kick to the stomach, followed by a powerful splits kick to the face that forced Ryu to his knees, unable to block the sudden kick to his thigh or jab to his own midsection.

His scarred, nameless opponent suddenly twisted his body in several spins, blue lightning like ki crackling between his fists as he roared and delivered a devastating uppercut straight to the jaw that launched Ryu in the air, the coup de grace being the final sudden kick to his stomach that sent his crashing into the wall behind him-

And through it, into the outside and rolling through the bitingly cold snow that barely offered any relief to the flaming agony of the torrent of blows he had just received, several grunts slipping out of Ryu's mouth as he rolled several times through the snow. His nameless attacker calmly followed after him, removing his dark jacket, and callously tossing it aside, revealing the dark purple shirt and black vest that had been hidden under it.

The scarred man silently adjusted his gloves as he advanced on Ryu. The younger fighter barely had the strength or senses to feebly try and crawl from his relentless foe. No sooner had he risen back onto his hands did Ryu receive another sudden kick to the face that knocked him flat on his stomach with a grunt of pain.

And still he tried to crawl away.

But his enemy would not give him a moment's peace, grabbing him roughly by the back of his gi and forcing him back onto his feet to swiftly receive a hard punch to the face followed by a knee to the stomach and finished with a slammed elbow to his back, once more dropping Ryu onto his knees with a pained exclamation. But the fallen World Warrior did not have a chance to even begin crawling as his merciless adversary once more snatched the back of his gi, forcing Ryu onto his knees this time as he raised his right hand over the young man's neck, preparing to deliver the final blow. With a sharp inhale and sudden tensing, the scarred fighter prepared to bring his hand down-

"_Hadoken!_"

And a blue ball of fiery ki struck him in the chest, knocking him away from Ryu and freeing the martial artist from his attacker's grip, as Ken Masters charged over to defend his friend. The blonde leapt and spun his body, quickly landing by Ryu as the scarred man rose back onto his feet in short order, glancing over his shoulder to look at Ken curiously with his mismatched eyes.

"Same technique…" He mused to himself.

Ken met his curiosity with an outraged expression as he charged again, throwing a punch that was easily deflected, his follow up left hook being blocked as well and his right cross being ducked under as well as his jab with his left fist and before he could try to punch again the blonde narrowly dodged his scarred opponent's sudden punch, forcing both fighters away from each other, stances defensive but ready to retaliate at a hat's drop. The scarred man slowly adjusted his stance, pulling his right arm back while extending his left out, eyes locked on his this interloper.

"Interfering may prove fatal…" He cautioned the blonde youth, expression blank and controlled, but barely hiding the ferocity that empowered his attacks as he studied his new quarry. A young man, around the boy in white's age, but American, with dirty unkempt blonde hair and wearing a green jacket over a simple red shirt and jeans.

Ken narrowed his eyes in fury before fiercely demanding, "Who the hell are you?! And what do you want with Ryu?!" Some surprise, Ken thought darkly. Ryu was always getting challengers but to stumble upon someone beating Ryu so bad his friend could only crawl away was enough to seriously piss Ken off. This wasn't some friendly match.

But he wasn't sure of what it truly was.

The scarred man did not respond. Instead he glanced at the white-garbed World Warrior who was rising weakly onto his knees, clutching his head. With a slight scoffing chuckle, the darkly clad fighter lowered his stance and said, "I see…"

Ken blinked looking quickly at Ryu before returning his gaze to the scarred man who went on talking.

"So he's you friend?" He asked, slowly turning and beginning to approach Ryu. Ken didn't respond, just kept his eyes on him and followed his movements, inching closer to Ryu's side. The scarred man sneered as he watched Ken.

"Foolishness…" He spat, disgusted.

Ken didn't lower his stance as the man continued to talk, his voice deep and controlled, but with an undertone of arrogance that the blonde was all too familiar with when it came to guys like him.

"That boy has a great power hidden within him," explained the dark dressed man, eyes locked on Ryu's crumpled form.

"I am the only one who can truly take control of it." He declared, eyes widening for the briefest of moments and his mask of blank and focused control slipping away to reveal a hungry expression.

Ken moved to stand by Ryu's side as his friend continued to reel from his injuries. Shaking his head and scoffing, Ken replied with a slight chuckle, "Understood." And boy did he ever. If he had nickel for every badass who wanted Ryu's hidden power, the 'Dark Hadou', to make himself an even bigger badass, he'd be pretty rich.

Well, richer.

That had the scarred man doing a quick double take, mismatched eyes once more locking onto Ken as the blonde went on. "But…" His friendly expression morphed back into the earlier outrage as he challenged, "That's not going to happen!" And he quickly charged towards the scarred man who thrust his leg out to nail a kick square in Ken's gut. But Ken had met this kick with one of his own, sending both fighters reeling back for a split second.

But in that same split second Ken had recovered in time to block and doge his opponent's second kick and wild swing but missed with his own punch and receiving two quick jabs to his midsection for his troubles but he was able to block the scarred man's first punch and duck under his follow up swing, able to land a few retaliating jabs of his own and try to land a punch to the guy's weird looking eye but was blocked and had his arm knocked down, but Ken was able to block his sudden punch and viciously uppercut the guy, nailing him square under his jaw with a cry of "_Shoryuken!_" His opponent cried out in pain, stumbling back in a slight daze but shook it off quickly and resumed his stance, glaring at Ken

The blonde fighter had a cocky grin plastered on his face as he dropped his stance and moved to align himself with his glaring enemy. "Like hell I'd hand Ryu over to you." Ken swore before rolling his shoulders and making a quick jerk of his head-_Come on_- before resuming his stance. Both men glared at each other for a moment before charging again, the dark dressed scarred fighter initiating a fierce assault of flashing punches, a backhand and several low kicks finished with a straight kick. Ken dodged it all, including the kick and landed his own spinning roundhouse right in the guy's ribs, sending him reeling back and clutching his side with a deep groan of pain.

He was barely able to dodge Ken's second roundhouse and block a low jab to his stomach that left him for a fierce cross to the face, though he was unable to duck under the follow up blow and block a second jab at his side but missed his retaliating swing that left him unable to block the sudden kick to the back of his knee. He tried to throw a punch into Ken's grinning face but the blonde caught his arm, twisted it to force the scarred man to show his back and allow Ken to land a swift jab to the back of his neck.

The dark dressed fighter turned swiftly in time to block Ken's flying kicks and jump over his sweep kick, taking a chance to try and land a leaping roundhouse on his adversary but Ken ducked under it, rising swiftly back onto his feet as his foe landed in time to knock his sudden straight punch aside, smack his hands aside and launch a fierce kick to his knee and followed up by another to the back of the guy's head, almost hitting his stupid pointy hair but the guy blocked, barely and poorly, and could only back up as Ken advanced forward, throwing a strong punch as he jumped to gain more ground.

The scarred fighter deflected the blow and both pulled back, resuming their stances, only the scarred fighter's blank expression was long gone, replaced by sheer outrage while Ken merely smirked back. Both suddenly charged, the scarred man fist pulled back while Ken's shot under-

And the blonde's was the faster, once more upper-cutting his enemy square in the jaw and knocking him off his feet and into the air. Ken spun off the momentum of his blow and as the scarred man landed back on his feet, he was met with several kicks to his legs, chest and face while Ken chanted, "Rararara!"

With one final kick across the face that left the scarred man stumbling and staggering just to stay on his feet, Ken dropped into a crouch, fist pulled back, the air suddenly heating up to burning degrees as he lunged up, fist surrounded by fire and delivered a third uppercut to his foe's jaw.

But this one packed ten times the power as the fire around Ken's fist ignited the air and carried him and the dark dressed man up in a spinning spiral of flames several feet off the ground. "_Shinryuken!"_ roared Ken as he had his enemy were carried into the air. The flames engulfed the scarred fighter, but he did not cry out or scream in pain as most of Ken's past opponents had before when on the receiving end of his most famous attack. Ken's face had taken on a fierce look once more…

While his opponent merely widened his eyes as he glared back at him with fury unmatched.

Ken's body spun, leg kicking out as he declared, "_Tatsumaki Senpukyaku!_" landing several whirlwind kicks across the dark dressed man's scarred face, though he made no sound of pain and was sent flying back towards a large tree. Ken landed suddenly, hands pulled back, blue fiery ki gathering between his palms.

Now for the finishing touches, the blonde thought.

"_Hadoken!_" Ken finished his combo with the fireball that started the battle, the ball of blue ki striking the scarred man square in the chest and sent him flying hard into the tree. With a single grunt, he crumpled instantly into a heap atop some dead twigs and leaves. He remained there, not getting back up this time.

Grinning, Ken lowered his arms and, remembering the man's earlier mumble about he and Ryu sharing the same techniques, said to his seemingly defeated adversary, "Fighting Ryu doesn't mean you've fought me." Well, technically it was almost true.

Ryu was the watered down version.

Still grinning, Ken called over his shoulder to his friend, "Ryu! Get up!" They were gonna finish this guy together and then get some answers.

But Ryu did not rise up. All the fallen World Warrior could do was feebly reach his hand out to steady himself. And still…

_**I will guide you towards the true path.**_

_**Like you have done for me.**_

The wind began to pick up, Ryu's headband fluttering, his lidded eyes rolling, exposing the whites of them, the veins of his neck beginning to stand out. The pain that filled his features fell way…

To a rage like no other.

Ken frowned, turning towards Ryu, wondering what was taking him-

And then he felt it.

Ken's smirk vanished in an instant.

_Oh no,_ he thought.

And as his face twisted in further fury, inside Ryu's mind-

_**AWAKEN!**_

"Ryu!" Called Ken, racing towards his friend.

Too late.

Ryu's eyes snapped open, the whites and regular brown having bled over into pure blood red.

"**MESSATSU!**" He roared; a fierce red aura erupting from his body, causing small twigs and leaves to explode away from his body just as Ken reached him, forcing the blonde back with a surprised cry.

Ryu's rage died as instantly as it had been born, becoming confusion, his eyes returning to normal. He shook his head, trying to keep the terrible power locked inside. But the beast had awoken and the voice would not be silent.

_**You can't run.**_

_**You must face me.**_

Ryu tossed his head back and screamed.

While only a few feet away…

His eyes snapped open, the left flashing red.

Ken lowered his hands, gasping and looking around wildly. Where was-

He saw him, running deeper into the forest, clutching at his head, shaking it, as if trying to fight away some unseen opponent or drown out a voice Ken could not hear.

But Ryu could.

_**Because it is our inevitable fate!**_

Ryu broke into a full on sprint, screaming again-No, roaring in a warped voice.

It was the roar of a monster, seeking to frighten its prey…

And challenge anything foolish enough to stand in its way.

"Ryu!" Ken called, reaching out for his friend-

But he did not have the chance to pursue as a shadow loomed over him.

Whirling around, Ken saw his fallen enemy risen in a sudden leap, fist drawn back. Ken clenched his outstretched fist and shot it forward to intercept-

But was blocked and received a harsh smack across the face followed by a fierce jab to the stomach, dazing him, though he cried out as he was suddenly kicked in the knee, stumbling-

Only to find himself righted as the scarred man snatched the front of his shirt and yanked him scant inches from his enraged face.

"Our fight isn't over!" The dark dressed warrior snarled.

Ken glared back, managing to tear himself free from his opponent's grasp and throw a wild left cross. But his attack was ducked under and Ken was open to a powerful punch to the face followed by a sudden kick to the back of his knee. Before Ken could do anything, he was upper-cutted by a sudden blow that was followed up by a fierce chop to his neck that left the blonde clutching his throat, unable to breath. And still the scarred man would not relent.

His leg struck out in a fierce straight kick. Ken raised his arms, trying to block the sudden oncoming barrage of punches-

But they had been feints, and as soon as his arms fell for a small opening he took another blow across his face and a second kick to the back of his knee.

Ken screamed in agony, falling and clutching his shattered kneecap.

The scarred man's face twisted into a furious, almost demonic, look of utter hate and contempt. As Ken continued to reel, the scarred man spun several times, body glowing as torrents of lightning coursed through his arms and he released one final spinning uppercut with a fist of iron and roar of rage that sent Ken flying back with a short cry of pain as his body struck another tree, his foe's ki still crackling across his body-

But Ken was not even allowed to crumple to the ground as his enemy charged forward with a sudden straight punch imbued with even more ki that caused Ken to stagger forward, clutching at his adversary's shoulder for support.

The blonde found himself unable to breath, his nerves all afire with agony he had never experienced in such a short order.

The scarred man slowly turned his head to look at the hand grasping him with a look of utter disgust.

Twisting his own arm to lock onto his weary opponent's hand, the scarred men struck his leg out, kicking under Ken's arm to strike his face several times before jerking his arm and leg to force Ken's arm-

SNAP!

Ken screamed in fresh pain.

With one final roundhouse kick, the scarred man saw the blonde collapse in a heap in the snow before him. Looking down on him as he stood to his full height, stance dropping, he declared after a moment, "In the end you fight the same…"

And without another look, he began to walk away, following after his original target.

While behind him…

Ken forced his head up to watch the man's retreating form. "Wait…" He gasped out, expression pained, but furious.

"I'm not done with you yet…" He vowed, forcing his broken body to inch across the ground in a futile attempt to rise back up.

While far away, and yet still close by…

Ryu continued to race through the woods, the voice having gone silent, but his heart and soul were struggling as the dark power inside him raged to be free.

Panting, unable to push himself forward anymore, Ryu fell to his knees, sliding to halt in the snow, his breath quick and panicked.

Out stretched hands clenched into fists, eyes closed, he pulled his arms inward as to physically contain the power inside-

But it was useless.

With one final scream, Ryu's body once more erupted into a fierce aura of red energy, a dome that expanded outward, consuming and destroying everything in its path. Inside the dome, Ryu continued to scream as his eyes bled over into blood red once more, his white gi darkening and tearing away…

And a kanji branded itself across his back.

_Destruction._

While only a few feet away…

The scarred man watched the dome of red energy expand outward, consuming the trees and melting the snow in a blaze of raw power.

Smirking, he murmured to himself, "So the time has come."

Lowering his head, eyes closing, he whispered, "You're too late…"

And then his eyes reopened.

Now both were red.

Sneering, Kazuya Mishima declared:

"Jin."

* * *

Across the world, waves rolled on a beach softly, peacefully.

The wind blew, ruffling fallen black feathers that stuck out of the sand.

The sand shifted suddenly…

Revealing arms covered in red gauntlets, with silver studs embedded in the knuckles.

The young man, dressed in all black, his clothing torn and frayed, sand falling off his body. His dark hair was spiked and curved in the front, dark bangs framing his young face. He looked towards the ocean ahead of his, the sunlight reflecting off the water.

_**So the one who beckoned for me is you?**_

A kanji flashed before his eyes.

_Metsu._

He reeled, clutching his head. This voice, where-

Behind his closed eyes, he saw a figure. A man.

His back was to him, his form surrounded by flames. He wore a torn black training gi, a red headband tied across his head through spiked blood red locks, and branded across his back…

That kanji.

_Destruction._

_**I've finally found you.**_

He shook his head, as if to drive away the all consuming voice. But it was useless.

_**I will not allow you to escape from our fate!**_

He fell to his knees, clutching his head with both hands.

Fate? What-

_**AWAKEN!**_

Pain flared through his body, centering at his back.

His hand dug uselessly into the sand before he clutched at his chest, trying to fight the rising pain down.

But it swept through.

_**And stand against my unyielding strength!**_

And overtook him.

Screaming, Jin Kazama threw his arms out as his black wings erupted from his back.

And the devil within awoke.

* * *

My first Street Fighter and Tekken fic, wrapped into one.

I've been wanting to do this for a while.

Plus I needed an excuse to write Kazuya beating Ryu and Ken down.


End file.
